Suspected drug lord captured in Mexico state

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known as 'La Barbie,' was seized by federal police agents, the government says. He had been battling for control of the Beltran Leyva cartel's business.

By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times
August 30, 2010|7:18 p.m.

Reporting from Mexico City — Mexico announced the capture Monday of one of its most wanted drug-trafficking suspects, a Texas-born figure accused of unleashing a wave of brutal slayings and a ruthless battle with rivals.

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known by the improbable nickname "La Barbie," was seized by federal police agents Monday afternoon in the state of Mexico, the region that surrounds Mexico City, the Public Security Ministry said in a statement.

Mexican television showed a photograph of the newly captured Valdez, plumper than he was in earlier known pictures and surrounded by police officers, some with their guns drawn.

Valdez allegedly served as the top enforcer for Arturo Beltran Leyva, a major kingpin killed by Mexican troops in December. Since Beltran's death, police say, Valdez has been locked in a vicious war with Beltran's brother Hector for control of the cartel's business.

The fighting brought gangland-style executions and the hanging of beheaded corpses to the previously peaceful town of Cuernavaca, a playground for the elite outside Mexico City that turned out to be headquarters for part of the Beltran Leyva gang.

The U.S. government had offered a $2-million reward for Valdez's capture after indicting him for allegedly smuggling huge quantities of cocaine into the United States.

wilkinson@latimes.com

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